Notes / Commercial Description:
The most popular of Upper Canada brews, this German style lager combines imported hops and yeast, spring water and malted barley for an exceptionally balanced, honey coloured lager.

Light to moderate aroma, mostly cereal grain and sulfur with faint corny DMS and the barest hint of hops.

Taste is slightly towards the bitter side, with a bit of sulfur and mineral notes and a fair amount of sweetness that is masked at first but comes out after multiple sips. Peppery hops linger on the palate.

Light mouthfeel, moderate carbonation. Slightly "sticky."

A good, basic pilsner. Much like their dark ale, it's unpretentious, more or less to-style, and reccomendable as much for the very low price as for the quality. Heads and tails above the regrettable alternatives in its price range, and preferable in my opinion to most non-craft "premium" lagers, which cost at least 50% more in Ontario.

A full light golden colour with a good initial head, some light lacing and plenty of carbonation. Smell is light, with grassy, malt, and slight nutty notes. Taste has a fuller malt body than mass lagers, with a bit of a caramel note, bready, light citrus edge and some mineralality. Not amazingly exciting or an outstanding lager, but it did exceed by (admittedly low) expectations. A rather balanced body with a smooth carbonation, if the flavour was ramped up a bit this could be a regular buy.

A-pours a clear yellow straw color with a white head with average retention
S-hint of malt and spiciness
T-slightly sweet and spicy, nice bit of malt in the finish
M-medium-light bodied but very smooth.
O-really solid beer and caught me by surprise. Most canadian beers I have had don't really hit the styles they shoot for, well done and very drinkable

341 mL bottle from the LCBO; bottled May 2012. Another Guelph brewery I've never heard of, despite having lived there for years - I should be ashamed.

Pours a bright golden-yellow colour, topped with nearly two fingers of frothy, soapy white head. It fizzles away rather quickly, but an even cap and some webby lacing are left in its wake. Decent aroma, but nothing complex - typical pale lager smells. Mostly grainy, with some light honey sweetness and grassy hop notes.

Despite my leniency when reviewing pale lagers, I am very rarely genuinely impressed with the style - which is why this one really surprised me. It's a great lager - straightforward to be sure, but I can't really ask for much more from this type of brew. There is not a single hint of adjunct here - nothing but tasty, bready malt flavours with some light hay-like hop bitterness. Usually I find these pale lagers to lean on the sweet side, but this one is nicely balanced, and much more quaffable for it. Light-bodied and watery, with a very smooth mouthfeel; quite drinkable and refreshing. A true old-school Canadian session lager.

[Updated Jan 23 2016]

Another twist-off bottle from a 24. This one's category was changed to a German Pils in the ~4 years since I last touched this review, and the price has also gone up slightly (making this more of a pseudo-value lager than a true one à la Laker or Old Milwaukee). I'd still be willing to argue that Upper Canada Lager is better than 95% of the other macro lagers, and it is certainly better value than the premium brands like Canadian or MGD. But as a pilsener, it's just nothing more than average. If that's your bag, stick with the imports - but if you just want a classic-style "Canadian lager", then this case should prove better value than most of the competitors.

T: Less sweet than it smells, which is good thing. Fairly malt heavy taste, which lingers for a delicious finish. More bitter than your average lager but not too much so, has just the right amount of bitterness.

M: Medium-heavy carbonation, soft and refreshing. Very enjoyable.

O: An excellent Canadian lager, will definitely be buying this again.

For the price this is has got to be one of the best values at the Beer Store, and I can confidently say that this is by far the best beer in it's price range, in my opinion. Definitely worth a try, especially if you're on a budget! Cheers!

A remarkable beer by a remarkable brewer. I hear Sleeman produces this and they are fantastic Guelph, Ontario brewery whose mass production beers easily compete with craft brews from Ontario. This beer is no exception and gets great marks across the board...now to review...

T - Malty, Earthy, Full and Robust for the style. Fizzy and very lively carbonation (I like!)

M - Fizzy and balanced. Great.

A - Pure straw yellow with a nice head and good lace rentention in the glass.

S - It has this full earthy wheat characteristic about it that works great for it and is slightly indicative of the taste of this brew.

I purchased this beer in anticipation of guests dropping by. I hope they enjoy it as a nice change from our usual as much as I did.

A = dark golden yellow in colour. Not much of a head when poured into a pint glass from the bottle. Carb bubbles were plentiful. Despite the rich colour for some reason the beer seemed to look "watery" in the glass - probably due to the lack of head which made it look flat early on.

S = not much there, a bit of a hopsy smell.

T = a bit of citrus; hopsy; I detected a taste that reminded me of a somewhat tart apple; otherwise not a very overwhelming taste - quite nice

M = not watery despite initial appearance; the carbonation became apparent in the mouth; a bit of a tart/dryness left in the mouth with a slight bitterness to it

This beer pours a clear pale golden hue, with two fingers of white soapy head, which leaves a small ring of head as it dissipates. It smells of light biscuit malt, and slightly skunky green hops. The taste is somewhat acrid white grain, and grassy, weedy hops. The carbonation is moderate, the body mildly creamy and decently weighted, and it finishes dry and grainy.

An overall decent and drinkable lager, a definite step up from the native macros of Ontari-ari-ari-o...

I won this in a bet with a colleague when the Red Wings won the Stanley Cup last year. It's been in my fridge since.

Bottle poured into a pint glass.. fizzy pale yellow with tan head.. emphasis on the fizzy.

Smell is somewhat skunky and sour.

Taste is sweet, caramel malts. Not really hoppy but very nice malt presence for something I was expecting to be watered down and boring. Fizzy mouthfeel but pretty thick for a pale lager like this. Nothing to complain about as far as drinkability.

This is a beer I had lying around without drinking due to lack of excitement, but it turned out to be a pleasant surprise. This is a pretty decent pale lager.

I poured it into something approximating a kolsch glass, and my, does it look like a beauty. Very classical lager appearance - a clear light gold liquid topped with a solid white head. Great retention and some nice lace. Subdued grainy malt aroma, but clean. Bready flavour, lots of pale malts and some honey. Slight citric bitterness and sourness in the finish. Medium-light mouthfeel and spritzy carbonation. Aye... its not a bad beer for a hot day. Too bad its still March!

Got this one in a twelve pack, for a celebration for the conclusion of exams! Anyway, pours out a nice deep yellow color, looks real inviting. The smell was not to bad i docked it .5 because it had an odd cardboard smell to it, but nice floral hops and malt. Smells pretty good. THis is one tasty lager, nice and smooth with a nice hoppy bitter finish. Quite satisfied. Mouthfeel was nice and full, smooth and carbonated. Nice. High drinkability in this one, when its nice and cold it really does go down good. I really enjoyed this one! Highly recommended! Good Job Sleeman!

Pretty good lager but nothing spectacular. Pours a golden color, some head but that fizzles away pretty quickly. Average aroma for a lager, there's not much there. This is pretty smooth and flavorful (for a lager), a little sweet and malty and a semi-sour finish. Aftertaste is pretty good.

Surprise find at my local grocery store, last twelve pack of bottles on the shelf and at a price I couldn't refuse. Overall this is a decent lager slightly different than the more popular Canadian Lagers. The beer poured a dark golden color with a thick head that ultimately dwindled down. The aroma was crisp and fresh, malty with a slight grainy chaser. The mouthfeel is thin but this can be expected in your standard lager. The flavor is a pleasant surprise. Slightly malty with a very faint hint of sweet grain adjuncts. There is a small bittering finish that is also crisp to the palate. Nothing special but a nice and solid choice among many more popular brands.

The appearance has a medium golden hue with zero head. This beer had a grainy-malty smell and had a corny-grainy-biscuity flavor, if that makes any sense. The beer has a medium body, and is quite filling

Overall, if you like traditional Canadian Beer, this is definitely worth a try.

I first tried this before Sleemans bought them. After Sleemans bought them, I tried it again.

This is a golden beer with a light head that is bubbly. The aroma is earthy with hints of grass and malt. The mouthfeel is crisp and slightly carbonated. The flavour is fuller than a lot of Canadian lagers and a full-bodied with hints of malt, grass, and yeast. A good beer experience. It tastes best when VERY cold.